By Jilawatan

Defending champion Maria Kirilenko of Russia defeated Severine Bremond of France 7-5, 6-2 Wednesday to reach the Barcelona Open quarterfinals. Roberta Vinci exploited the erratic serve of second-seeded Flavia Pennetta to win 6-1, 6-2. Pennetta had nine double-faults. … Second-seeded Venus Williams struggled to advance at the Family Circle Cup on Wednesday, beating Sania Mirza of India 6-1, 3-6, 6-2. It took the fifth-ranked Williams almost 21/2 hours to defeat the 100th-ranked Mirza on the green clay of stadium court at the tennis center on Daniel Island. … Rafael Nadal beat Juan Ignacio Chela 6-2, 6-3 in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters, a first step in his bid for a fifth straight title in this clay-court tuneup for the French Open. Roger Federer, who lost to Nadal in the last three Monte Carlo finals, defeated Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third round.